Flashing left-turn yellow arrows will soon be coming to traffic lights at 10 intersections in Fayetteville, thanks to the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The new scheme is intended to improve safety by reducing crashes, and it also will increase traffic flow, according to DOT. The new lights will, however, take some getting used to by local motorists.
The solid red and green arrows are self-explanatory: you can turn left on a green arrow and you must stop on a red one. It’s the yellow arrows where things get a bit trickier.
On a flashing yellow arrow signal, drivers may turn left but must yield to pedestrians and oncoming vehicles, DOT says. On a solid yellow signal, drivers should prepare to stop as the light is about to turn red, officials said.
During heavy traffic volume the traffic signal may skip the flashing yellow phase to increase safety at the intersection, DOT says. It is important that drivers not try to anticipate what the traffic signal is about to do; just “drive and obey the signal,” according to DOT’s advice.
The new signals will be up and running by Wednesday, Dec. 4, officials said.
The new signals are coming to Ga. Highway 314 at the intersection of White and Banks Road and the intersection of Creekwood Trail. They will also be found on Ga. Highway 54 at the intersections of North Jeff Davis Drive and South Jeff Davis Drive.
Six of the signals will be on Ga. Highway 85, stretching from the two lights at the courthouse square (Ga. highways 54) on the south end ranging north to the crossroads with Ga. Highway 92, Ga. 314/North Jeff Davis Drive, Creekwood Trail and Banks Road.
“We believe this will help drivers wanting to make a left turn better understand when they can do so freely, when they may proceed with their turn cautiously, and when they may not turn left,” DOT Regional Traffic Operations Program Manager Grant Waldrop said. “Our primary purpose is to reduce the often-devastating angle crashes that result when a left-turning vehicle is struck by oncoming traffic.”
